Sue-Ann Northern

Sue-Ann E. Northern, nee Schmidt, 71, of Fairview Heights, IL, born August 2, 1946 in Belleville, IL, passed away on December 19, 2017 at Memorial Hospital.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Joseph and Carrie Schmidt (nee Ebert) and is survived by a son, Scot Northern of North Liberty, IA.

In May of 2017, Sue-Ann retired from the Fairview Heights Bob Evans after 15 years of service. Sue-Ann also worked at Boston Market in Fairview Heights since the day it opened 22 years ago. Sue-Ann was a member of St. Paul United Church of Christ in Belleville, the Rainbows for Girls, and the PTA.

However, her work experience and club memberships, who preceded her in death and the fact that her only child is writing this obituary, only tell part of her story. She was and will always be so much more. My mom never met a stranger. and If she did, that person wasn't a stranger for very long. She cherished friends, new and old. She relished in the opportunity to meet new people. Why? Because it gave her the opportunity to make them feel special. Perhaps that is why she stayed at Boston Market and Bob Evans for so long. She loved being able to make other people's food because, as she said, "nothing brought friends and family together quite like a good meal." If you were lucky enough to spend any time around my mother, you probably remember that she never passed up an opportunity to smile, to tell a story, to help someone, and let's be honest, to probably talk about me.

She always told me that her greatest achievement was having me as her son. I can't speak to how accurate that is or how worthy I am to have that said about me. What I can tell you is that I consider every moment I got to spend with her, every phone call in which I heard her voice, and every message she sent me on the phone, to be the greatest gifts I have ever received. If you were lucky enough to call my mom a friend, please know that she loved you and could probably remember every detail about how you met and the time you spent together. If you ever sent her card or gave her a gift, I can attest to the fact that she never threw ANY of the cards or gifts away. To her, throwing something like that away would be throwing away a connection, a memory of a friend, and she cherished her friends far too much for that.

She was my hero.
She was my best friend.
She was my mother.

Memorials may be made to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, www.LLS.org. Other condolences may be offered online at the Valhalla website.

Funeral: Services will be held on Saturday, January 6, 2018 at 1 p.m. at Valhalla Gaerdner Holten Funeral Home, 3412 Frank Scott Parkway West, Belleville, Illinois 62223.